Anas admits to personal grudge against SBY

JAKARTA. Graft suspect and former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum acknowledged on Monday that his recent attacks against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were part of a personal vendetta to avenge the ill treatment that he claimed he had received from his former boss.

“Friends, I am speaking here to announce that what I have done so far is not an attack on the [Democratic] party, which I love, but more specifically I’ve directed the attacks on Pak SBY as my response to his treatment of me,” Anas said at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters on Monday, referring to Yudhoyono by his initials.

More specifically, he added, his recent revelation of an audit report into Yudhoyono’s 2009 reelection campaign finances, which Anas claimed contained lists of bogus donors whose names were used to cover up illicit funds allegedly funneled from Bank Century, was an effort to reveal the “truth” about the President.

“I will not attack the party because I was the party chairman and many of my friends are running for office through the party in the upcoming legislative elections,” he said.

Anas said that he was currently reviewing the audit of Yudhoyono’s campaign funding to help the KPK find possible irregularities.

“I am still finishing the work. I will submit the work and the audit reports soon. It has nothing to do with the election though,” he said, adding that his report would help KPK investigators trace bogus campaign donors easily.

When asked what Yudhoyono had done that angered him, Anas said: “You know better than I do.”

On orders from Yudhoyono, Anas was removed from his position as party chairman in February 2013 after he was named a suspect in the graft case surrounding the Hambalang sports complex in West Java, a case which also implicated other Democrat members.

Anas was charged with corruption by the KPK for allegedly accepting a Toyota Harrier and Rp 2.2 billion (US$194,000) from the construction firm that won the tender for the Hambalang project. Later, the KPK added money-laundering charges against Anas after tracing a number of his assets allegedly tied to money laundering.

Anas, through his lawyer Firman Wijaya, also attacked Yudhoyono family members by disclosing that his former boss’ youngest son Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro Yudhoyono also received $200,000 from the project.

Contacted separately, Yudhyono’s lawyer Palmer Situmorang said “whatever Anas has done to Pak SBY, it won’t change his perception of the former party chairman”.

Palmer also denied Yudhoyono had directed attacks against Anas.

“We must recognize that Pak SBY has never attacked Anas, although Anas never ceases to attack my client and his family. Pak SBY told me that Anas had the potential [to be a leader] but he just lacked the patience,” said Palmer, who has been tasked with monitoring mainstream and social media since last December last to examine media articles considered to be smears against the President’s family.

Palmer said that all Anas’ attacks against Yudhoyono were “illogical” and unsupported by credible evidence. “For example his allegation that the down payment on the Toyota Harrier was paid using cash given by Pak SBY clearly contradicts the KPK’s allegation that the car was given by Nazaruddin’s [former Democrat politician] company” in relation to the Hambalang graft case, Palmer said.

“If Anas has proof and evidence regarding his allegations, he should have filed a formal report to the KPK and we’d have no doubt about it,” Palmer said in response to the audit report issue.

Palmer also lambasted Anas for launching the attack against his client while Yudhoyono was campaigning to improve the electability of the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, on Monday the KPK decided to extend the detention period for Anas for another 30 days. (Haeril Halim)